Air strikes rock Yemen capital after rebel attack

SANAA: Strong blasts rocked the Yemeni capital Sunday after the Saudi-led coalition vowed to press its air war following a rebel missile strike that killed 60 Gulf soldiers.

The United Arab Emirates had pledged to quickly avenge its heaviest ever military loss after 45 of its soldiers were killed in Friday´s missile attack, along with 10 Saudis and five Bahrainis.

The UAE is part of a Saudi-led Arab coalition formed in March to try to reverse the gains of Iran-backed Shiite Huthi rebels and restore the rule of exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.

Sunday´s coalition air raids, coinciding with funerals in the Emirates, pounded positions of the rebels and renegade troops loyal to ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Coalition warplanes struck military bases on the capital´s Nahdain and Fajj Attan hills and the neighbouring presidential complex, south of Sanaa, as well as a headquarters for special forces.

Also targeted were Huthi positions in the northern areas of Sufan and Al-Nahda, forcing scores of residents to flee, as well as rebel positions near the Saudi and Emirati embassies, witnesses said.

Sunday´s bombardment was one of the heaviest of the six-month-old air campaign.
"The first strike after dawn prayers shook our house," said Sadeq al-Juhayfi, a resident of Al-Haffa, southeast of Sanaa, where a military base was targeted.

Normally bustling areas of the capital remained empty and most shops were shuttered.